In 1990 we had to good fortune to host a foreign exchange student from Belarus name Aleksey Nikiforovich. That relationship has developed into a lifelong friendship with many return visits over the years. He had long invited us to come visit Russia and in 2017 we took him up on his offer and what follows is a summary of that unforgettable trip.
We arrived to meet him and his family in St. Petersburg and checked into the Hotel Kempinski (very near the Hermitage) and then set off to tour the Church of Spilled Blood and the Summer Garden in the rain.
The post which follow recap our week in St.Petersburg after which we traveled by train to Moscow to speed a week sightseeing there, including a visit to the Metropol Hotel made famous by the book A Gentleman in Moscow.
